Heating system



June 24, 1941.` H, s KEHM TAL 2,246,802

HEATING SYSTEM Filed May 22, 1939 HORACE 5. lKEN/f COURT/.Awa G./V5wTa/vatented `l'une 24, 1941 SATS 'ATG SYSTEME Aimplication llfiay 22, i939,@criait lilo. Zilillii itil. Edil-5in il illlaims.

` wherein heated water is circulated under pres sure from a boilerthrough a single pipe main in the form of a loop to which a plurality ofradiators are connected by supply and return risers respectively. Ateach radiator, the main constitutes a shunt or by-pass for the radiator,and the fittings by which the supply and return risers are connected tothe main are so arranged that stratied flow of thewater results in themain.

More specifically, during iiow of water in the main between theradiators, the hot water bypassing a radiator will be delivered atvtheradiator return connection to the top portion of the main, `and thesomewhat cooled Water returning from the radiator will be deliveredtothe bottom portion of the main. At the supply risers of the radiators,the connection fittings are arranged to take water from the upperportion of the main, the water at the lower portion of the main nowingthrough the radiator ley-passes.

The system described in the aforementioned patent is very suitable andeiiicient in operation when utilized in relatively large heating systemsin which the main loop is of relatively large diameter pipe. lin smallsystems, however, such as would be installed in a small home and wouldusually contain eight or less radiators, the economical size of the mainloop becomes so small that the advantages resulting from stratified flowci the water are lost or reduced to such an extent that the straticationof the Water becomes irn- A practicable.

Having in mind the unapplicability of a stratilied system of now foreconomic" low cost installation oi small heating systems, the present invention contemplates yan improved arrangement wherein emcient heatingmaybe secured in a small single main loop heating system having acomparatively few 'radiators and a main line of relatively smalldiameter.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedheating system wherein all the radiators may be furnished of the samestandard size irrespective of the sizes ol? the rooms in which they maybe installed, thus elimihating the cost oi skilled engineering servicetor calculating and determining the various radiator sizes to meetdilierent installation conditions.

Another object ci the herein described invention is to provide animproved single loop heat-n ing system in which the amounts of iiow ofheating fluid through the radiators may be successively graduated andincreased as the temperature of the heated iluid is successively de'creased by flow through the radiators.

Still another object is to provide a looped main heating system havingiiow choking means at each radiator for controlling i'low therethrough,and arranged to open whenever the fluid pressure in the main exceeds apredetermined amount.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved fittingfor connecting a radiator into the main of a loop type heating system,this fitting embodying an adjustable spring biased baie for choking iiowthrough the fitting but operating upon predetermined increase ofpressure in the heating system to move to ineffective position and thusrelieve the system pressure and permit circulation through the system.

In accordance with the general features of the herein described system,it is proposed to provide asingle pipe main in the form of a loop towhich the radiators are connected by supply and return risers. This loopis connected to a suitable furnace or device for heating the liuid, andthe heated fluid is circulated under pressure by means oi a suitablecirculating pump. The supply risers of the radiators are connected intothe main loop by means of the usual "l'pipe iitting, and the radiatorsat their outlet are provided with the usual throttling valve. .Thereturn risers of the respective radiators are each connected to the mainby means of a special 'lr-ht- 'ting.

This special fitting, which is more fully described subsequently, isarranged with an adjustable baille which serve sas a choke or retarderfor the we ter in the main which is by-passed around each radiator.'Ihesebaffles are arranged with adjusting handles which are exteriorlyof the tting" body so that the baffle may be adjusted to provide more orless choking or retarding effect as desired.

Since the conditioned uid in this type of system is successively shuntedthrough the radiators from the main loop the successive baliies orretarders may be successively closed by greater amounts so that as theconditioned fluid is gradually cooled by passing through radiators, thesubsequent radiators will pass more fluid so that the heating capacityof all the radiators will be substantially equalized. Since the lastradiator of the series will have its baille almost fully closed, it willbe apparent that if this radiator should be shut off by its throttlingvalve, circulation through. the preceding radiators would be seriouslyaffected and pressure would build up ahead of the last baie.

As an additional feature, this baille is arranged to be normally biasedby a spring, so that when the pressure builds lup ahead of it, thebaille will be opened independently of its adjusted position and relievethe pressure so that the circulation through the system may be continuedefficiently.

Other objects and features of the invention will more readily appearfrom the following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing which illustrates a single embodiment thereof, andin which:

Figure 1 is a view illustrating a single main loop heating systemembodying the features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary .portion of the system showing inelevation a pipe connection tting having an adjustable baiiie or owretarder, such as utilized in the system of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section taken through the same to show itsinternal construction; and

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken through the fittingsubstantially on line IV-IV of Figure 2.

As shown on the drawing:

In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention there is shown inFigure 1 a boiler l0, which is connected at its outlet to one end of asingle pipe main loop l I and its inlet to the other end of the mainloop. Interposed in the main loop is a suitable circulating pump l2 bymeans of which conditioned uid may 4be circulated through the system, inthis instance water which has been heated in the boiler.

A plurality of heat exchange devices, in this instance radiators asshown at I3, I4, and l5, are successively connected to the main line bymeans of supply and return risers I6v and I1. It will be noted thatconnection of the supply riser is made to the main line by means of anordinary T-fltting as shown at i8 and that each radiator at itsconnection with the return riser is provided i with a suitable controlor throttling valve i9 .by means of which the circulation of conditionedfluid vthrough the radiator may be manually controlled.

Each return riser l? is connected with the main line by means of aT-tting 20 having a construction which will be subsequently described indetail. In the disclosed arrangement, it Will be noted that the mainline at each radiator in its portion lying between the ttings I8 and 26forms a shunt flow circuit -past the radiator.

In general, the fittings 20 are so arranged as to retard or choke thefiow of fluid through the associated shunting portions of the main line,and this choking characteristic is made adjustable so that the amount-of fluid forced through the associated radiator may be adjusted.

More specifically, the fitting 20 comprises a T-shaped body structure2|, as shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, this body being constructed of anysuitable material such as wrought iron, brass, and the like. The bodystructure defines an interior chamber 22 of substantially rectangularcross section. 'This chamber communicates with a pair of main lineconnection openings 23 and 24, and also a branch connection opening 25which may be angularly disposed with reference to the main lineconnection openings. I'hese openings, if desired, may be internallythreaded for pipe connection.

Within the chamber 22, there is disposed adjacent the main opening,which will be utilized for the inlet of uid to the fitting, a baffleplate 26 having its uppermost edge margin provided with a barrel`portion 21. The barrel 2l is rotatably mounted upon a transverselyextending shaft or pivot pin 28 supported in the body structure forrotative movements, one end of this pin `being disposed in a projectingportion 29 of the housing, and the other end being extended through anintegrally formed tubular boss 30 on the opposite side of the bodystructure. Intermediate its ends, the `boss 80 is provided with aninternal shoulder 3| which forms an abutment seat for a washer 32surrounding the shaft and serving to maintain it at the axis of thetubular boss. The outer end of the boss is threaded for threadedlyreceiving a cap member 33 which cooperates with the washer 32 inmaintaining a suitable packing 36 compressed around the associated endof the pivot member 28 and thus prevent leakage of fluid from thefitting body along the pivot member.

The end of the -pivot member which projects through the cap 33 isprovided with a crank handle 35 by means of which the ypivot member 28may be rotated from the exterior of the tting lbody.

Arrangement is made for maintaining the crank handle in any position ofadjustment by providing a detent spring 36 having one end secured to thehandle, and its other overlying and riding upon a curved rack 3l on thefitting body. This rack may be formed as a separate element and securedto the body or, if preferred, may be integrally formed on the bodyduring its construction.

As shown in Figure 4, the right hand end of the barrel 2l is providedwith a semi-circumferential end slot 38 in which there is disposed a pin39 projecting from this end of the -pivot member.

At the left end of the barrel 21, between this end of the barrel and thewasher 32, there is provided a coil spring which surrounds the Ipivotmember. One end of this spring is anchored as at di to the shaft, whilethe other end of this spring is deected so as to extend over andresiliently engage the innermost surface of the baffle 26 and normallymove it in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 3, until thismovement is stopped by the `abutment; of pin 39 against one end of theend slot 38.

With the foregoing construction, it will be apparent that the bafflelplate 26 may be swung by means of the handle 35 to a position, as shownin Figure 3, wherein it fully closes the opening 23 of the tting andengages an abutment stop projection 42 at the bottom of the fitting, orthe plate may be moved through an opening direction with reference tothe opening 23 to a limiting position, as shown in dotted lines, inwhich the branch opening 25 will be fully closed or cut off from thechamber 22 within. the fitting.

During the adjusting movement, the spring 40 is carried along with therotational movement of the pivot pin 28. However, if pressure is appliedagainst the outer surface of the baille plate 26, the baie plate may beindependently swung on the pivot 28 against the pressure of spring 40,

and thus automatically act as a relief valve with reference to the inletopening 23.

Since the fittings are all similarly constructed, they may beindiscriminately utilized for connecting the return risers from theradiators to the main line Vwithout consideration as to whether theradiator is the rst radiator of the system or one of the subsequentradiators.

As shown in Figure 1, it will ber noted from the adjusted position ofthe handle of the respective ilttings 20, that the baille 26 for theradiator I3 would be in substantially opened position, that the baille26 associated with the radiator I4 is somewhat further closed, and thatthe last baille would be almost fully closed with reference to the mainline of the system. Thus, as the conditioned fluid or heated water inthis instance is circulated through the main line, the respectivebaffles operate to successively cause more fluid to be circulatedthrough the associated radiators as the conditioned fluid becomescooled.

Due to the fact that the baffle 26 associated with the last radiator ofthe system, in this case radiator I5, is almost fully closed, it willbecome apparent that should this radiator be shut oil by closing itsvalve IB, all the water flowing through the main line must pass throughthe opening determined by the position of the baille t6. Since thisbaille is almost fully closed, it is apparent that circulation of iluidin the main line would be seriously interfered with, and it would not bepossible to efficiently operate the preceding radiators I3 and I4.However, this diiflculty is automatically taken care of due to therelief feature of the fitting. That is, pressure will build up in themain line ahead oi the baille 2B associated with the radiator I5, andwhen this pressure reaches a predetermined amount `suicient to move thebaille against the spring dll, the baille will be swung in acounterclockwise direction, as previously explained, on the pivot pin2B, and thus permit circulation oi fluid through the system withoutpassing through the radiator which is shut off.

Although the bailles of the fittings 2li` will in general be adjusted inthe manner described above for successively determining the flow throughthe radiators accordingly as the temperature of the conditioning fluidis modified, the baille and relief arrangement therefore have furtheradvantages in that it enables independent adjustment of the baflles ofthe radiators in the system to compensate for the different resistancesof the flow paths through the radiators and their connections.

Such differences in the resistance to flow through the radiators mayarise from a number of causes. For example, the supply and returnconnections for one radiator may be of a different length than those ofanother radiator,

or 'it may not be possible to utilize the theoretically proper size ofpipe for the different radiators due to the standardization of pipesizes.

Thus it will appearthat not only is there a possibility of the lastradiator of the system having its baille substantially closed, but otherradiators ahead of the last one might 4also under certain conditionshave a considerable closure. Irrespective of which ballles may besubstantially closed, these baffles will be relieved whenever thepressure builds up ahead of them to a predeter,

mined amount,'as might happen when their associated radiators are shutoff. Ample system circulation will therefore always be assured for theradiators remaining in operation.

While we have chosen to describe the present invention in connectionwith a heating system, we do rot wish to be limited to such specillcuse, as it Will readily be appreciated that the invention is susceptibleof other uses and may be utilized advantageously, for example, in acoolingsystem.

heating systems for homes andthe like; which enables the installation ofradiators of the same standard size irrespective of the heatingrequirements of the rooms in which the radiators are to be installed andwithout the necessity of the services of a skilled engineer .tocalculate various yradiator sizes to meet the different installationconditions; which provides a system in which the amount of flow ofheating fluid through the radiators may be successively graduated toprovide increased flow as the temperature of the heated fluiddiminishes; which is so arranged as to provide for relief operationWhenever a ra diator is shut oil and the associated baille or retarderis in such position as to prevent proper flow in the main line toefficiently operate the remaining radiators; and which includes animproved fltting for connecting the return risers of the variousradiators to the main line, this iltting embodying an adjustableretarder for detenmining the circulation through the radiators withwhich the respective fittings are associated.

Now, it is of course to be understood that although We have described indetail the preferred embodiment of our invention, the invention is notto be thus limited, but only insofar as deilned by thescope and spiritof the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a system of the character described, a main flow line for a fluidunder pressure, a heat exchange device having inlet and outletconnectionsl with said line, and yieldable baille means normallyadjustable to control the iluid flow in the portion of the main linebetween said connections, said baille means being automatically movableto inoperative position relative to said portion of the main-line, whenthe pressure of said fluid is increased above a predeterminedr amount.

2. In a system of the character described, a main flow line for a iluidunder pressure, a heat exchange device having inlet and outletconnections with said line, an adjustable baille for normally chokingfluid flow through the portion of the main line between said connectionsand determining the amount of fluid circulated through the heat exchangedevice, and yielding means retaining the baille in normal adjustedposition but enabling movement thereof to an ineffective positionrelative tosaid portion of the main line, when circulation of uidthrough the heat exchange device is decreased to such an extent as toresult in the building up of fluid pressure in the main line above apredetermined value.

3. In a system of the character described, a main flow line forconditioned fluid under pressurefa heat exchanger having supply andreturn connections with said line, abeille at the return connection ofthe heat exchanger with the main line, said baille being normally adjustable to variably impede the uid owing through the portion of the mainline between said connections, an auxiliary control valve in one of saidheat exchanger connections, and pressure responsive means for releasingsaid baille relative to its normal adjustment upon increased pressure inthe main line due to the closing of said valve.

4. In a heating system, a main flow line for conditioned fluid underpressure, a plurality of radiators each having supply and returnconnections with said main flow line, movably mounted flow retardermeans at each radiator for opposing ilow of fluid in the main linebetween its supply and return connections, said re tarder means havingincreasing eectiveness in the direction of flow of fluid in the mainline, whereby the amounts of uid circulated in said radiators aresuccessively increased as the uid temperature decreases, and yieldingmeans normally opposing movement of each retarder means to anon-retarding position, whereby at least the most eiective 0f saidretarder means may be rendered inactive, when its associated radiator isshut off, and the remaining radiators operated without decreased flow.

5.'In a heating system, a main iiuid ilow line;

a radiator having a iluid supply connection and a duid return connectionwith said line, said latter connection including a T-tting havinginternal adjustable baiile means normally opposing fluid iiow in themainline, and pressure responsive means for rendering said baile meansineffective to oppose said fluid flow upon predetermined uid pressure inthe main line.

6. In a system of the character described, a main flow line forconditioned fluid under pressure, a heat exchanger having supply andreturn connections wit'i said line, a baille at one of said connectionsof the heat exchanger with the main line, said baille being normallyadjustable to variably impede the uid flowing through the portion of themain line between said connections, an auxiliary control valve in one ofsaid heat exchanger connections, Yand pressure responsive means forreleasing said baille relative to its normal adjustment upon increasedpressure in the main line due to the closing of said valve.

7. In a heating system, a main fluid flow line, a radiator having afluid supply connection and a fluid return connection with said line,one of said connections including a T-fitting having internal adjustablebaille means normally opposing fluid flow in the main line, and pressureresponsive means for rendering said baille means ineffective to opposesaid fluid ow upon predetermined fluid pressure in the main line.

8. In a system of the character described, a main flow line forconditioned fluid under pressure, a heat exchanger having supply andreturn connections with said line, pressure relief means responsive tothe pressure of said fluid in the main flow line, said means including amovable resiliently mounted baile at the return connection of the heatexchanger with the main line, said baille being adjustable to variablyimpede the fluid flow through the portion of the main line between saidconnections, whereby the.

amount of iluid passing through the heat exchanger is determined, andsaid baille being movable to relief position by the action of abnormalmain line pressure to enable substantially unimpeded fluid iiow throughsaid main line portion.

9. In a heating system, a plurality of radiators having inlet and outletconnections respectively to a iluid supply and uid return, a shuntbypass between said connections of each radiator, adjustable retardermeans in each radiator connection for opposing iluid flow through itsbypass and determining the amount of iluid cireulating through theradiator, means supporting said retarder means in said radiatorconnection for movement independently of its adjustment to a position innon-opposing relation to flow through the by-pass by the fluid pressureacting thereon, and resilient means cooperating with said supportingmeans for opposing said movement at normal pressures but enabling saidmovement at a predetermined increased pressure.

HORACE S. KEHM. COURTLAND G. NEWTON.

